Blinded (A Sequel to "Sight")

You Son of a-

Elisha stared at her daughter in surprise. Rose had just told her everything that had gone on the past few days.

"Well," Elisha set down her cup of coffee. "That's a lot to take in."

Rose put her hands up to her face. "I just don't understand why it happened to me. What did Griffin have against me and Varian?"

"I don't know, honey. All I can say is that I'm glad this threat is gone."

"But he's dead, Mom. Dead.

Elisha reached out a hand towards Rose. "Honey-"

"I know what he did-- or planned to do-- was awful, but I can't help but feel guilty about this," Rose confessed. "What if... what if he actually was just trying to warn us? Was this all one huge mistake? Is that dangerous person still out there?"

"Honey, you're spiraling." her mother told her. Rose took a deep breath. "Anyways, even if he was just sending warnings, he was still vandalizing, and causing lots of havoc."

"But he didn't deserve to die," Rose said in a small voice.

"I know, sweetie, but from the sounds of it, he killed himself. It was his decision," Elisha explained.

"Do... do you think he killed himself, because we wrongly accused him?" Rose asked suddenly.

Elisha looked at her in surprise. "There could've been a lot of reasons why..."

"I need some time to myself," Rose said, heading towards the door. Benton and Daina followed behind.

Once outside, Rose pressed her back to a tree, and slowly moved into a sitting position. She sighed, then watched as Benton and Daina gave her confused looks. It was as if they were saying, What's wrong?

"Why couldn't things just stay peaceful?" she asked no one in particular. "Why did all this have to happen?"

Benton and Daina shared a look, then scurried away. Rose sighed. "Don't be gone too long!"

They didn't seem to hear her.

Rose wrapped her arms around her legs and stared at the ground, a thousand thoughts rushing through her mind.

But it doesn't seem like normal villain behavior. Varian's voice came into Rose's mind. Maybe that was because Griffin wasn't a villain.

Rose sat in that position for a while, trying to think of how Griffin could be innocent. How he was just a pawn in the real villain's game.

Then there came a rustling from a bush nearby. Rose tensed, but slowly got up. She reached for her quiver, only to remember it wasn't there.

Daina came running out of the bush, and Rose calmed. "Daina. You scared me!"

But the mouse's ears were back, and Rose could tell she was terrified. She hid behind Rose's leg, shivering.

"What's the matter-?"

A sudden weight pushed Rose to the ground, and growling sounded in her ear. Rose glanced up. A huge, terrifying beast was on top of her, with gray fur, sharp teeth, and long claws. Rose struggled to get out of its grip. Saliva dripped from its mouth.

An arrow zipped by, and Rose looked up to see her very own mother, holding Rose's bow. Elisha narrowed her eyes at the creature. "Get off my daughter, you son of a-"

The beast scrambled off of Rose-- scratching her arm in the process-- and leaped at Elisha. Rose's mother shot another arrow at it before moving out of the way.

"Mom! I didn't know you could shoot a bow!" Rose shouted in amazement, clutching her injured arm.

"Not the time, sweetie!" Elisha shot another arrow at the beast, this time landing it in its shoulder. The creature cried out in pain.

Rose tried getting up, still holding her right arm close to her. Blood was seeping through her sleeve. She waved her good arm all around. "Over here, furball!"

Despite the arrow in its shoulder, it still ran very fast. Rose dodged to the right as it ran into the tree. It shook its head, then glowered in Rose's direction.

Rose turned to her mother. "Keep it distracted! I have a plan!"

Without looking to see if her mother had heard, she ran in the direction of the small shed that sat nearby their house. Inside, piles and piles of junk lay all about. Rose frantically searched through the piles, until she found what she needed.

Rose rolled up the net in her arms, then sprinted back out towards the fight. Another arrow was lodged in the beast's hind leg. It was getting slower.

"Catch!" Rose threw one end of the net towards her mother, who threw the bow to the ground, and caught the net with ease. "On my mark! One! Two! Three!"
Together, they ran forward, as the beast charged at them. They held the net up, and the creature got stuck in it. Bringing the net back down, Elisha stuck an arrow through one of its holes and into the dirt, to keep it in place.

The creature struggled to get out. Its claws started ripping through the netting. Rose was worried that the beast would get out and attack them again.

But just as the last few strands of the net were cut, a bright light flashed across their vision, and Rose was forced to shut her eyes. It took her a few moments to adjust once she opened them again.

The beast was now gone, leaving no trace that it was there-- except for the large net and a few scattered arrows. Rose narrowed her eyes in confusion. Where did it go?

But as she walked up to the net, she noticed something strange. Right where the beast had been... was Benton.